Northern Ireland Office

National Security Arrangements in Northern Ireland - 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019

Brandon Lewis: This is a summary of the main findings from the report by His Honour Brian Barker QC, the Independent Reviewer of National Security Arrangements in Northern Ireland, covering the period from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. His Honour Brian Barker concludes:The overview is a twelve-month period of almost constant change and unpredictability. At the core was another year without a functioning Executive or Assembly and no representative capacity for vital decisions on development to be taken.Throughout the reporting period I have taken the opportunity to arrange meetings with appropriate senior members of the Service and PSNI, and to be briefed on significant events. My visits to both MI5 and various PSNI establishments confirm my view that there is a deep sense of commitment and high level of professionalism in the continuing and unpredictable battle against indiscriminate and violent lawlessness. Relations with An Garda Siochana continue to strengthen aided by the appointment of PSNI’s Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris as Garda Commissioner in September 2018.Following the pattern in recent years there have been successes in the containment of dissident groups, but the context in which national security activities are performed remain ‘challenging’ and constant care and vigilance by members of the PSNI and the Prison Service both in relation to personal safety remain absolutely necessary.Arriving from Cheshire Constabulary, Chief Constable Simon Byrne took over on July 1st and was given little time to settle in before a marching season that was disappointingly violent. I was grateful for an introductory meeting in August, and a fuller exchange took place in November covering many of the difficulties, not least the step change in dissident attacks. An examination of CHIS procedures and control had been satisfactory.The frustrations of the Policing Board were partially addressed by legislation in November 2018 allowing new membership, followed by effective reconstitution in December. I was able to assess progress at a meeting in May and attended what was a very useful exchange. The Board was now able to discharge their wide range of overseeing constitutional duties and follow the seven principles set out in the 2017-2020 Plan to continue oversight of the work of the police and to encourage engagement at all levels. In a meeting with Professor Duncan Morrow and Dr Jonny Byrne of the University of Ulster a valuable perspective was provided by their reflections on the ‘state of the union’ based on years of research and teaching.The annual statistics issued to mid 2019 show that the powers of stop and search under section 47a of the Terrorism Act 2000 were not exercised. There were 169 premises searched under warrant under section 37 Schedule 5 of the same Act. There were 146 persons detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act and 143 (98%) were held for 48 hours or less. 16 persons were charged with a total of 39 offences including four charges of attempted murder, eight charges of firearms offences, six charges of GBH with intent and four charges of possession of offensive weapon. A total of 34 persons were disposed of by non-jury trial, 29 of whom were found guilty of at least one charge. A total of 17 non-jury trial certificates were issued by the DPP, four down on the previous year. There as a total of six persons convicted in the Crown Court under the Terrorism Act 2000, the Terrorism Act 2006 or the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, one less than the previous year. There were 1515 examinations carried out by police officers under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, 656 of which were examinations of persons, eight of which resulted in a detention. Paramilitary style shootings resulted in 17 casualties, down four compared with 2017, all being aged 18 or above. Paramilitary assaults resulted in 60 casualties, up by six. No compensation or agency payments were made under section 38 schedule 4 of the Justice and Security (NI) Act 2007 where property was broken, destroyed or damaged or other private property rights interfered with.I wish to note the full co-operation extended to me by both MI5 and the PSNI where standards and commitment, in the face of unpredictable difficulties, continue to be of high order.Determined attacks from extremists have continued and police and prison officers face unacceptable risk in pursuing their duties as they continue to be regarded as legitimate targets.The tragic killing of Lyra McKee has robbed Northern Ireland of a ‘rising star’ - someone who also believed passionately in social and religious tolerance; but her death generated widespread anger and condemnation of the activities of terrorists. One of her legacies hopefully will be an acceleration along the slow road to normalization.I have measured performance in this reporting period against the five key principles identified in relation to national security in Annex E to the St Andrews Agreement of October 2006. My conclusions are set out in the attached table. 



Annex E to the St Andrew's Agreement
(Word Document, 14.61 KB)

The First Report on the Use of the Petition of Concern Mechanism in the Northern Ireland Assembly

Brandon Lewis: I am today laying before both Houses of Parliament the first report by Her Majesty’s Government on the use of the Petition of Concern mechanism in the Northern Ireland Assembly.As part of the New Decade, New Approach deal upon which the devolved Executive and Assembly was restored in Northern Ireland on 11 January 2020, the UK Government committed to undertaking such a report every six months.This report covers the period from 11 January 2020 to 10 July 2020, during which no Petition of Concern has been lodged against any motion in the Assembly. During much of that period the normal business of the Assembly has been disrupted due to Covid-19. The Assembly has adapted to deal with this by moving to meet frequently as a committee of the whole Assembly.The fact that there have been no Petitions of Concern since the Assembly was reconvened is a positive reflection on the operation of the Assembly and of the Executive. I know that political leaders in Northern Ireland will share my view that the Assembly should aim to proceed on this basis for the remainder of the current Assembly.The next UK Government report on the use of the Petition of Concern will cover the period from 11 July 2020 to 10 January 2021.The report notes that full implementation of the Petition of Concern reforms in NDNA will require Westminster legislation. The Government will bring forward such legislation when parliamentary time allows, after which the Assembly will be able to reflect the detail of the reforms in its standing orders.

Department for Education

Independent Review of College Financial Oversight

Gillian Keegan: I am publishing today the report of the Independent Review of College Financial Oversight, conducted by Dame Mary Ney DBE.At the heart of the report is recognition of the contribution of colleges to their local communities and economies– essential to meeting both the skills needs of business and enabling young people and adults to succeed and adapt to the changing economy. Colleges must be recognised as an integral part of each region’s growth strategy with a long-term role in raising productivity and living standards. They are vital to building skills to power our national economic recovery at this time.The principal conclusion of the report, which I endorse, is that government must have a strategic relationship with FE Colleges. This means not just acting as a regulator, or intervening in the event of failure, but ensuring that every college is part of a coherent plan to meet local and regional need. There are many outstanding colleges, and exceptional college leaders, who are well placed to drive not just the success of their institutions, but wider prosperity working with local authorities, businesses, universities and schools.The report supports a collaborative FE system. Colleges are critical infrastructure backed over time by substantial government capital investment. There is a place for competition, but it is also important that colleges work together to meet need and learn from the exceptional practice that exists in the sector. Dame Mary’s report highlights how this collaborative approach has driven improvement through the Strategic College Improvement Fund, and National Leaders of FE – work that is now been taken forward through the new College Collaboration Fund and the expansion of the National Leader programmes. I endorse this approach.The FE Commissioner has played a critical role in bringing FE practitioner expertise into government and successfully working to strengthen the leadership and governance of colleges. I intend to maintain the role, reporting directly to ministers as a public appointment, but strengthening alignment with the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), and placing its civil service support team there. This change will further empower and develop the ESFA’s territorial teams and enable them to draw upon practitioner expertise. There will be a regular strategic dialogue with each college board around priorities. This will reduce the perception that support is only available to colleges in trouble, and focus not just on prevention but on building success and outstanding practice.The review also recommends further action to improve the effectiveness of the financial data collected from colleges. In February, the ESFA took the first step towards adopting a new integrated single data return, working closely with the Association of Colleges. We have also commissioned a July financial collection to assess the financial impact of COVID-19 on the sector and individual colleges. This will enable us to continue to work with governing bodies to mitigate financial risks arising from COVID-19, avoid failure and help reduce intervention, while remaining ready to act decisively when necessary. This will be supported through additional requirements for colleges to be transparent – including protection for whistle blowers - through our Audit Code of Practice and grant conditions. Starting from 2020/21, they will require all colleges to publish their whistleblowing policy externally. We are also considering the link between the ESFA’s financial assessments and OFSTED judgements - in light of OFSTED’s plans to consider piloting of changes in schools. The report is also right to highlight the importance of funding simplification.Inspirational leadership, overseen by strong governance, is the ultimate driving force in all our outstanding colleges – providing the structure and culture that supports outstanding teaching and develops exceptional teachers. We are investing in learning and development programmes for those in key governance and leadership roles in colleges through the Education and Training Foundation and Oxford SAID business school. We have allocated up to £4.5m for the current financial year, which will include a new programme of learning and development for governance professionals. Dame Mary was right to highlight the importance of this role. We will also strengthen the governance guide for college corporations.Fundamentally, Dame Mary Ney’s report demonstrates that government must set out a long-term radical vision which places colleges where they belong – driving the success of regional economies and communities. This could not be more opportune. As we renew our economy and society following the historic challenge of Covid-19, our young people and adults must have the skills to succeed. The steps we are already taking, particularly with the launch of the first wave of our new, high status T levels this autumn, are a vital step. We must build on this to create a broad and bold strategy to elevate the role of Further Education and support our colleges in their vital and transformative mission. Our forthcoming White Paper will set out how we plan to do that.


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Department of Health and Social Care

Update on implementation of the Immigration Health Surcharge exemption for health and care workers

Edward Argar: Following announcements by the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care earlier this week, I would like to further update the House on progress made by the Department of Health and Social Care towards implementing the Immigration Health Surcharge exemption for health and social care staff, as announced by the Prime Minister on 21 May 2020.The Prime Minister’s announcement demonstrated our continued commitment to supporting our health and social care workforce and their families, not least because of the support they have provided to all of us throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.Our election manifesto included the commitment to introduce an NHS Visa. As set out by the Home Secretary, next month, we will launch a Health and Care Visa, following the Fees Regulations that were laid yesterday. This will make it cheaper, quicker and easier for the best health and care professionals to come and work in the UK. The launch of this new visa will also mean that for the very first time, overseas health and care staff on this visa will not need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge upfront, either for themselves or their dependents.I am, however, conscious that this visa does not exempt everyone in the health and care sector who has paid the Immigration Health Surcharge, such as the thousands of overseas staff working as direct care workers in social care, or as cleaners, porters or healthcare assistants throughout the NHS. I am pleased, therefore, to be able to reiterate what the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care confirmed in the House yesterday: that all employees working in the health and care sector that have paid the Immigration Health Surcharge on or after the 31 March 2020 will be eligible for a reimbursement of what they have paid since that date, including those vital staff outlined above.This reimbursement will be paid in arrears of six-month increments. This ensures we only reimburse those workers and their families who have worked in the sector for an appropriate period of time. This will also provide an incentive to continue working in the health and care sector. I can confirm that this scheme will be launched by 1 October 2020. This is the earliest date that eligible workers and their families would be able to claim a reimbursement. My officials continue to work with colleagues across government, the devolved administrations, representative bodies and the health and care sector to ensure those who are eligible for reimbursement are accounted for within the scheme, and my Department will publish further details of the scheme in due course.These are significant steps in ensuring that our health and social care workforce and their families are themselves cared for, after they have cared for and supported so many of us in incredible circumstances.My Department will make further announcements to update the House on the progress of the Immigration Health Surcharge exemption and the reimbursement scheme, and relevant documents will be published on gov.uk in advance of the reimbursement scheme launching in October.


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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Publicly accessible registers of company beneficial ownership in the British Overseas Territories

Wendy Morton: My Honourable Friend, the Minister for the Overseas Territories and Sustainable Development (Baroness Sugg), has made the following written Ministerial statement:The Government welcomes the statements made by eight Overseas Territories in which they have committed to greater transparency by announcing they will establish publicly accessible registers of company beneficial ownership.The eight Territories – Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Montserrat, the Pitcairn Islands and St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha, and the Turks and Caicos Islands – have all demonstrated good progress and political leadership as part of the global effort to increase transparency in financial services and tackle illicit finance.This follows an earlier announcement made by the Crown Dependencies to implement publicly accessible registers of company beneficial ownership within the next few years, and the establishment of a publicly accessible register by Gibraltar, in line with the EU’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive.In line with the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act 2018 the Government will prepare a draft Order in Council before the end of 2020, which will be published. We hope that the British Virgin Islands will also commit to publicly accessible registers of company beneficial ownership without delay.The Government considers that the end of 2023 is a reasonable deadline for the introduction of such registers. Meeting this date will be a considerable ask for many Overseas Territories, given their limited resources; especially those Overseas Territories that do not currently have a company beneficial ownership register. It will involve significant legislative and operational changes. To provide the Overseas Territories with assistance on registers the Government ran a technical workshop last July, hosted webinars in November and will be providing further assistance.It took the UK over three years to introduce its own public register. The 2023 deadline also aligns with the Government’s international campaign to advance publicly accessible company beneficial ownership registers as a global norm. We believe that action on beneficial ownership information in the Overseas Territories should be complemented by improved public access to beneficial ownership information internationally. This maximises the protection of our national security.The statements issued underscore the Overseas Territories’ continued contribution to the global fight to tackle illicit finance. However, it is not the only action they have taken.All Overseas Territories with financial centres participate in the Exchange of Notes arrangements. These are bilateral arrangements under which they share beneficial ownership information with UK law enforcement and other agencies within 24 hours (or 1 hour in urgent cases). They are an invaluable capability for our law enforcement, particularly for the National Crime Agency on money laundering and asset denial activity. Last year’s statutory review found that these arrangements are working well and are providing UK law enforcement with rapid access to information used to support ongoing criminal investigationsMany Overseas Territories have committed to global tax transparency standards, including the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard; under which taxpayer financial account information is automatically exchanged for tax purposes. This reciprocal, automatic exchange of financial information addresses the secrecy that facilitates offshore tax evasion and provides evidence of tax non-compliance.The Government therefore welcomes the statements on making company beneficial ownership information publicly accessible and all the constructive action the Overseas Territories are taking as responsible jurisdictions.


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